Assistance needed please !

[steveinspain]

I have never even considered a small pc in the past as space was not an issue - however, the idea of a small and maybe even pretty case is starting to appeal - I do like the bright colours of the prodigy cases but something even smaller might appeal too !
My old Antec P182 is just big, boxy and fine hidden away but no-one would call it pretty !

So, where do I start - my computing needs are basic - currently my Asus P5 pro/E8400 is doing just fine but I am thinking of upgrading - I would like to keep costs down, so want to keep my Corsair TX650 (non modular) PSU which may limit me in terms of size of case.
I don't own a graphics card as I don't play games but do have a few Noctua 120mm fans to keep thing cool. Budget is limited but open to suggestion - basic photoshop is likely to be the most demanding thing I do so nothing fancy is needed and cooling should not be a problem, so a small case could be ideal.
I have an SSD and will want one or maybe two HD's plus an optical drive.

So, what cases are worth looking at that will accommodate my PSU and come in some funky colours and if anyone has any suggestions as to mobo and processor that would be much appreciated too !

 

[Doomedspeed]

Case wise, you've got a few options:

YOUR BASKET
1 x Lian Li PC-Q08R USB3.0 Mini-ITX Case - Red £104.99
1 x Lian Li PC-Q11R Aluminium Mini-ITX Cube Case - Red £94.99
1 x Lian Li PC-Q08B USB3.0 Mini-ITX Case - Black £84.98
1 x Lian Li PC-Q11B Aluminium Mini-ITX Cube Case - Black £76.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Magma Orange £64.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy 'Yin' Mini-ITX Cube Case - White/Black £64.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy 'Yang' Mini-ITX Cube Case - Black/White £64.99
1 x Lian Li PC-Q07R Mini-ITX Cube Case - Red £59.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Midnight Black £56.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Arctic White £56.99
1 x BitFenix Prodigy Mini-ITX Cube Case - Passion Red £56.99
1 x Lian Li PC-Q07B Mini-ITX Case - Black £44.99
Total : £891.61 (includes shipping : £48.95).



My Favourites are the Prodigy and Q07, though the Q07 may struggle to accomodate your non Modular PSU..

The Prodigy wont have that problem as it's a Big ITX case (almost mATX)..

You have two options CPU/motherboard wise, either go for A trinity chip which gives you good overall performance and An amazing on-board GPU.

YOUR BASKET
1 x AMD A8-5600K Black Edition 3.60GHz (Socket FM2) APU Trinity Quad Core Processor (AD560KWOHJBOX) £79.99
1 x ASRock FM2A75M-ITX AMD A75 Chipset (Socket FM2) DDR3 Mini ITX Motherboard £73.99
Total : £164.78 (includes shipping : £9.00).




Or the Intel Route which gives you a bit better power but less on-board..Also it put you on a good upgrade path too.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-3220 3.30GHz (Ivybridge) Socket LGA1155 Processor (77W) - Retail £89.99
1 x ASRock H61M-ITX Intel H61 (Socket 1155) DDR3 M-ITX Motherboard £58.99
Total : £159.78 (includes shipping : £9.00).



Personally i'd go for the Trinity (a8-5600k) As it's a good all round CPU at a brilliant price and will give you the option to go gaming.

 

[steveinspain]

Thanks for the help Doomedspeed - much appreciated !
Having always had intel I am slightly torn towards the i3 chip, but you say the upgrade path is good - tell me more please as I am amazed at how cheap this is looking so far and want to get a real upgrade. You may be able to tell by my current system that I don't do this too often !!!

How is Loughborough these days - my inlaws live there, so I have not visited recently - can you guess why ???

 

[Doomedspeed]

Anytime,

The 1155 Socket has the i5 and i7 (both sandy and Ivy) as options, this is the upgrade path.. Though they are beyond what you'd need. As your just using basic programs the i3 would fulfil that and much more..

If you did want to spend a bit more id invest in a Second hand GPU, as you don't need a lot of horse power.

The GTX 460 would be ideal, i had one until recently and it was ace, they go for around £60 in the MM..

I can guess why? Been out in Spain a while.. a lot better than this place, i must say.

 

[steveinspain]

Anytime,

The 1155 Socket has the i5 and i7 (both sandy and Ivy) as options, this is the upgrade path.. Though they are beyond what you'd need. As your just using basic programs the i3 would fulfil that and much more..

If you did want to spend a bit more id invest in a Second hand GPU, as you don't need a lot of horse power.

The GTX 460 would be ideal, i had one until recently and it was ace, they go for around £60 in the MM..

I can guess why? Been out in Spain a while.. a lot better than this place, i must say.

More questions - what difference would I see if I were to go for an i5 or i7 in terms of every day use ?
I just took a look at the AnandTech comparison and there seems to be a big difference in the results, but how does that translate in real world use ?

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/56?vs=701

Also, I was under the impression that a GPU wasn't needed unless playing games - what would it do for photo editing for example ?
Again, thanks for any help !

 

[Doomedspeed]

More questions - what difference would I see if I were to go for an i5 or i7 in terms of every day use ?
I just took a look at the AnandTech comparison and there seems to be a big difference in the results, but how does that translate in real world use ?

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/56?vs=701

Also, I was under the impression that a GPU wasn't needed unless playing games - what would it do for photo editing for example ?
Again, thanks for any help !

Everyday use; as in browsing, music video ect, you wouldn't notice it..The speed of these things really depend on your Hard drive..

Those numbers are pretty impressive and thats where the i5 will start to show itself. Changes you do in photoshop will appear faster, become clearer and multi-tasking won't become a chore...

Video cards are normally only used for games but Nvidia's CUDA system helps speed up 2D and 3D design programs. If you are heavily into photo/video editing they are worth it, though if its not that heavy you would be fine without one.